At the Salone del Mobile this year, Tokujin is heard everywhere, from the Swarovski Crystal Palace to Kartell and now Moroso. As in one of our previous posts, we showed concept photos of the Memory chair – but here’s the real thing. The special recycled aluminum fabric is indeed one that could “remember” your seating position and becomes your chair. It is an interesting concept, I just wished that the chair was a bit more comfortable.

I had the opportunity to speak with Arik Levy about his Pattern Collection of outdoor furniture he designed for emu, as well as understand the other projects that he is currently working on. Here is what Mr. Levy had to say about these and more.

The collection

There are a few facets as to how lighting played an important role in this collection. First, Mr. Levy chose a more rough, matte finish for the collection as he wanted the pieces to be seen – literally. Having pieces of shiny, glossy furniture under the sun (remember this is outdoor furniture) would just bring too much glare and the furniture would be “lost” in the setting due to the reflection.

In addition, Mr. Levy brought light to the collection in a different way – through the hexagonal shapes that are stamped out. Imagine the pieces in your backyard on a sunny morning, you will see the shadows of each hexagonal shape on one side of the ground, but as the day goes by the position of the shadow will move, creating this “interaction” and bringing the outdoor setting together as one with the furniture pieces.

Sustainability

We’ve continued to see a lot of sustainability as part of many products’ themes here at the Fair, this one is the same. Mr. Levy noted that the laser-cut hexagonal shapes actually makes the chair lighter, which reduces transportation weight. The stackable chairs also make the packaging more compact as well. Mr. Levy also

Upcoming Projects

So what’s there to look for from Arik Levy? On April 24, he will be exhibiting two pieces of his work in Tokyo’s 21_21 Design Sight Gallery as a part of an exhibition called “POST-FOSSIL: Excavating 21st Century Creation”. In May, he will be opening an exhibit in Santa Monica, California as well as launching a jewelry collection.

A Salone del Mobile visit would not be complete without seeing the new products from major companies like Kartell. The first of the products is the Masters Chair. This piece was originally shown at last year’s show; however, the actual product is now ready for sale around the end of the month. If you haven’t seen it before, it is a true fusion of styles between three pieces of furniture from Eero Saarinen (Tulip), Arne Jacobsen (Series 7) and Charles Eames (Eiffel), all icons of contemporary design. The outlines of each piece is then taken and meshed into this chair that you see below.

Moving on… the Audrey Chairs by Piero Lissoni is actually made from aluminum, which is a first for Kartell. The piece is versatile in that customers may choose various finishes and color.

Here’s an “updated” version of the classic Windsor Chair called the Comback Chair. With this updated version you can select from a range colors. So your grandmother’s chair no longer has to look “old”…

These Magic Hole Chairs are outdoor pieces with two armchairs and a sofa (sofa not shown below). What’s interesting about this is that this is all done with a single mold — even with the pocket “holes” that are on either side of the chair or armrest. This is still in prototype stage, so there are still changes pending. When we know more we will keep you updated. Stay tuned.

All images above are taken and used with permission from Kartell, do not use without permission.